Diction is a pertinent aspect of James Joyce's works, this is especially apparent in his work of The Dubliners, which is a collection of short-stories depicting industrial Ireland throughout the 1900's. Diction via defintion is the author's choice of words. In Joyce's case he has built up a reputation for his diction. In The Dead and all the short stories in general it is easy to percieve that Joyce has a crisp and pervalent sense of diction.
Joyce's diction is prevalent in that his word choice ranges from onorthodox words such as "Guttapercha things" to older out-dated words like Galoshes, another example that striked me was "fib". This word means to tell a lie but is usually used more in the United Kingdom, and most likely commonwealth's of England.
Joyce's diction is crisp in the sense that he says what he means and doesn't over decorate his text by making it overly complex through complicated words and figurative language. Most of his stories are very brief and basic with the exception of The Dead. Which in reality is only a forty page story. An example of his frankness is "Why is it that words like these seem to me so dull and cold? Is it because there is no word tender enough to be your name?" Often, authors make references and allusions which are difficult to comprehend for the reader when they are speaking figurativily.
This is because of the setting in which he describes Ireland, and this encourages a sense of Irish Vernacular. For example "I think he has a grand voice." The adjective grand is clearly not a common word used to describe a voice and seems to be influenced by James Joyce's origins. Since The Dubliners is a compilation of short stories he might not have been able to establish other literary components as much as diction. In this case The Dubliners diction comes naturally to Joyce for he is Irish, in turn speaking of his own language and what he knows. It is said that James Joyce's diction is complex and poly-syllabic emplying words from many foreign languages from a defintion of diction supplied by the internet.
The effects of Joyce's diction is that he makes the reader question, and often doesn't make comprehension as straight forward as it could possibly be. This is because a large base of readers are foriegn to Irish vernacular because they are not Irish. But, this process familiarizes the reader and makes them feel more at home with a foreign setting, and defiantely makes it a whole lot more realistic!
Joyce's diction is prevalent in that his word choice ranges from onorthodox words such as "Guttapercha things" to older out-dated words like Galoshes, another example that striked me was "fib". This word means to tell a lie but is usually used more in the United Kingdom, and most likely commonwealth's of England.
Joyce's diction is crisp in the sense that he says what he means and doesn't over decorate his text by making it overly complex through complicated words and figurative language. Most of his stories are very brief and basic with the exception of The Dead. Which in reality is only a forty page story. An example of his frankness is "Why is it that words like these seem to me so dull and cold? Is it because there is no word tender enough to be your name?" Often, authors make references and allusions which are difficult to comprehend for the reader when they are speaking figurativily.
This is because of the setting in which he describes Ireland, and this encourages a sense of Irish Vernacular. For example "I think he has a grand voice." The adjective grand is clearly not a common word used to describe a voice and seems to be influenced by James Joyce's origins. Since The Dubliners is a compilation of short stories he might not have been able to establish other literary components as much as diction. In this case The Dubliners diction comes naturally to Joyce for he is Irish, in turn speaking of his own language and what he knows. It is said that James Joyce's diction is complex and poly-syllabic emplying words from many foreign languages from a defintion of diction supplied by the internet.
The effects of Joyce's diction is that he makes the reader question, and often doesn't make comprehension as straight forward as it could possibly be. This is because a large base of readers are foriegn to Irish vernacular because they are not Irish. But, this process familiarizes the reader and makes them feel more at home with a foreign setting, and defiantely makes it a whole lot more realistic!
References:
www.cwru.edu/artsci/engl/marling/hardboiled/Glossary.HTM
Links:
http://www.oppapers.com/term-papers/102006.html
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/jjoyce.htm
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/dubliners.pdf